After 13 years of filmmaking and hundreds of hours of content production, I've learned that constraints spark creativity—not kill it. The same principle that made me divide business from creative work now guides how I approach AI in filmmaking. Most filmmakers ask the wrong question: "Will AI replace my creative work?" The real question is: "How can AI help me be more creative within my constraints?" AI isn't your competitor—it's your creative sparring partner. But here's the crucial part: it's a conversation, not a command. You need to know when to trust AI output and when to push back. That's where experience and human judgment become irreplaceable.
Read MoreCalifornia's Tax Credit War Against Global Production
California just fired the opening shot in the global film incentive arms race. The state more than doubled its annual film tax credits from $330 million to $750 million—and made them refundable for the first time since 2009. As someone who's spent over a decade bringing international productions to Southeast Asia, this changes everything. The math that once favored overseas production is shifting. But this escalation reveals something crucial: budgets are tightening everywhere. Streamers pay less, distributors offer less, and the independent film world gets squeezed hardest. California's move isn't just about incentives—it's about survival in a contracting market. The question isn't whether other regions will escalate. It's whether we can afford not to.
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